Pakistan Security Brief - July 1, 2013

Suicide bomber kills 28 in Quetta; Car bomb kills 18 in Peshawar; Ministry of Finance to decide on IMF loan; British Prime Minister David Cameron visits Pakistan; Afghanistan angry at Pakistan over “power share” proposal; Kerry to meet with Pakistani officials at ASEAN conference; Four soldiers killed, 16 wounded in IED in North Waziristan; Altaf Hussain quits, then returns, as MQM chief; Two Nanga Parbat suspects arrested; Grenade thrown at Pakistan Embassy in Tripoli; Iran-Pakistan pipeline to finish on time, says government official; 9 killed in shootings throughout Balochistan; Sharif emphasizes bilateral relations with China; U.S.-Pakistan business conference concludes in Dubai; Two policemen killed in Peshawar; Two schools blown up in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; According to Pakistan Army, 75 militants, 21 soldiers killed in Parachamkani in the last month; India and Pakistan exchange prisoner lists; Zardari approves 2013-2014 national budget; Germany will not press charges in 2010 drone death of citizen in North Waziristan; Rangers search Karachi Central Jail in connection with Karachi June 27 bombings; 11 killed in Karachi over the weekend.

Militancy

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Sunday in Hazara town in Quetta, killing himself and twenty seven others in the explosion. Over 60 others suffered wounds in the attacks. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) has claimed responsibility for the attack. Reportedly, the bomber had been attempting to enter a Shia mosque when he was detained at a checkpoint, at which point he detonated his explosives. The attack occurred just over two weeks after June 15’s Lashkar-e-Jhangvi bomb and gun attack on the Bolan Medical Complex, which prompted increased security in the city.[1]

A car bomb targeting Frontier Corps personnel on Saturday in Badaber, near Peshawar, killed 18 people, including a child, and wounded 47 others. Reportedly, the bomb had been detonated as a convoy of FC personnel passed through the area, but killed only two soldiers in the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but an FIR has been lodged against three commanders of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Darra Adamkhel.[2]

According to a Monday report in Dawn, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government under Chief Minister Pervez Khattak is currently proposing a plan to withdraw the Pakistan Army from Swat entirely, in an attempt to create a “comfortable situation” for its citizens, in which roads are not hindered by checkpoints and security forces. According to military analysts, however, “[complete] withdrawal is not a possibility.”[9]

PTI leader Imran Khan announced at a convention on Sunday that the provincial government of Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa intends to meet with Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and possibly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss national-level counterterrorism policies. Khan’s remarks follow several attacks against PTI members by the TTP in the last few weeks.[10]

According to the Associated Press in a report on Monday, German prosecutors will not press charges against the U.S. for a 2010 drone strike which killed a German citizen in Mir Ali, North Waziristan stating “they don’t consider the German as a civilian covered by international humanitarian law” as he was fighting with militant groups in the region.”[23]

The weapons used by TTP militants in the killing of MQM provincial assembly member Sajid Qureshi and his son in Karachi have been used in five other murders in the Pakistan Bazaar and Iqbal market police stations, authorities revealed on Sunday.[25]

On Sunday, Police in Orangi Town, Karachi, arrested five alleged members of TTP in addition to confiscating explosive materials and firearms. The police claimed that the five individuals had recently arrived in Karachi to plot a terrorist attack against an unspecified target in the financial district.[27]

Five people, including a Rangers member, were killed in Karachi on Saturday. The Rangers official was shot and killed near Nagan Chowrangi while off duty, while a young man was gunned down outside of a milk shop near Mosamiyat Chowrangi. Another man was shot dead near a water plant in Gulshan-e-Maymar, and a body was found near Napier road. After exchanging fire with police, an armed suspect was also shot and killed near a bakery in Tipu Sultan.[29]

In response to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) allegations of discriminatory arrests and the use of lethal force against its adherents, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Saeed Ghani said the legal system, not law enforcement personnel, was responsible for ensuring justice. Ghani’s remarks follow outrage over the extrajudicial killing of an athlete in Lyari, Karchi, by Rangers last Friday. It also runs counter to the path chosen by officials in Punjab, who have given their police “free reign” to use lethal force against suspects as necessary.[30]

Six people were killed in firing incidents on Monday in Karachi. Two people were caught in a cross fire during a police operation in Steel Town, two tortured bodies were found in Lyari, a religious activist was killed in Baldia, and a tortured body was found in Qasba.[31]

The Ministry of Finance will decide today whether or not to accept an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package worth $5 billion. Addressing ongoing public concerns regarding the IMF’s insistence on higher taxes and a decreased development budget, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated that the government will not impose any new taxes to satisfy the IMF’s pre-loan requirements. As recently as last Friday, the IMF voiced concerns about the nation’s inconsistent budget figures and mishandling of the negotiations; media spectators are doubtful both sides will reach agreement before the IMF delegations returns to Washington, D.C. this week.[34]

Protestors in Lyari, Karachi ended their occupation of the city’s “red-zone” on Monday, following successful negotiations with authorities regarding the extra-judicial killings of citizens without due process of law. Pakistan Peoples Party lawmakers from Lyari supported the rally, demanding that all suspects be treated in the same manner.[37]

Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Monday requesting a criminal case and contempt of court charges against President Zardari and several former ministers for their alleged collusion on the letter to Swiss authorizes regarding ongoing graft proceedings.[38]

According to Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Ershad Ahmadi, Pakistan’s suggestion of a power sharing agreement between the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan government—proposed by Pakistan’s Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz during a meeting with Ahmadi—is a play by Pakistan to obtain more influence in Afghanistan. According to Ahmadi, this agreement would be a, “means for the Pakistanis to achieve what they could not achieve through their proxy (the Taliban) on the battlefield.”[40]

UK-Pakistan Relations

On Sunday, British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first foreign head of state to visit Pakistan since the election of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Cameron promised the British government’s support in combating extremism in Pakistan and, separately, remarked on Pakistan’s role in—and the benefits derived from—a stable, democratic government in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his support for Afghan-led peace talks as well, noting that Pakistan, “promote[s] the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, to which the three million Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan can return with honour and dignity.”[41]

Iran-Pakistan Relations

During a briefing to the Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on Friday, the Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said that the Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline Project would meet its December 2014 completion deadline. Once finished, the project will help ease the country’s energy crisis according to The News in a report on Saturday.[42]

India-Pakistan Relations

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced on Saturday that he will send Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif to India to discuss opportunities for energy collaboration in the face of Pakistan’s ongoing energy crisis. Indian members of the Pak-India Joint Business Council assured Sharif that the government of India could assist in providing science education and training.[43]

According to the terms of a 2008 Consular Agreement, the Foreign Office provided the Indian High Commission with a list of Indian nationals imprisoned in Pakistani jails as part of a biannual prisoner list exchange. The prisoners are released when their jail sentence is complete, although the government may release some low-level prisoners periodically as a goodwill gesture.[46]

The Ministry of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State concluded a two-day business conference in Dubai last week, during which businessmen and government officials discussed investment and trade opportunities. High-level attendees included the President of the India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry S. M. Muneer, and former Ambassador Javed Malik, who praised economic ties with the U.S. and claimed the election of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has boosted the confidence of foreign investors.[49]